Trailer and wheel suspension therefor



April 21, 1953 G. A. KENDALL 2,535,897

TRAILER AND WHEEL SUSPENSION THEREEOR Filed oct. s, 195o s sheets-sheet1 April 21, 1953 G. A. KENDALI. I 2,635,897

TRAILER AND WHEEL SUSPENSION THEREFOR Filed Oct. 3, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet3 M 3Q *L I EQ i :r: I '3 V I INVENTOR.

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Patented Apr. 21, 1953 TRAILER AND WHEEL SUS-PENSION THEREFOR George A.Kendall, Windsor, Ontario, Canada Application October 3, 1950, SerialNo. `188,087

11 Claims. (Cl. ZBO-104.5)

This invention relates to trailers and more particularly to wheelsuspensions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wheel suspensionstructure particularly adapted for trailers having a plurality of setsof wheels in tandem on each side of the trailer. More particularly, itis an object to provide a wheel mounting structure and suspension meansfor such a trailer wherein relative movement will Ybe allowedbetween thesets of wheels and between the wheels in each set, thereby absorbingshocks due to road unevenness either along o transverse to the directionof movement.

It is another object to provide a trailer wheel mounting structure asdescribed, in which every wheel will tend to be at all times in contactwith the roadway, thus distributing the load over a larger tire andpavement area. More specifically, it is an object to provide suspensionmeans for a trailer having a plurality of sets of dual wheels vin tandemrelation on each side of the trailer, the

suspension comprising a resilient support for the axle of each set ofdual wheels allowing the axle to rock in a transverse plane, and aseparate resilient support for the tandem wheel assembly on each side ofthe trailer, allowing each tandem assembly as a Whole to rock in alongitudinal plane.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the trailer showing I'the arrangement of thewheel trucks and of the steering gear, parts being omitted for clarity;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the trailer shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a tandem wheel truck and itsmounting suspension `taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the trailer adjacent onetandem wheel truck, the

rangement.

The trailer comprises in general a carrier body or platform 2l and aplurality of sets of wheels suspended therebelow.

In the illustrated embodiment, the rear of the trailer is shown ashaving two tandem wheel truck assemblies 22 and 23, and the front ashaving two front wheel assemblies 24 and 25, the front wheel assembliesbeing used for steering purposes. It will be understood, however, theprinciples of this invention may be embodied in trailers which aresteered from either the front or rear end, further that the structuraldetails of the wheel assemblies in the illustrated embodiment, such asthe number of wheels, are not intended to limit the invention to thisspecific design.

The Vcarrier body of `the trailer comprises a platform 26, with outerplatform rails 2l and inner platform rails 28 supporting platform 26.The wheel assemblies are suspended to the underpart of the carrier bodyin a manner to be later described. Each tandem wheel assembly `comprisestwo sets of wheels in tandem relation as shown best in Figs. 2 and 3.Each of these sets comprises two wheels 29 of identical shape having hubcaps 30 and rotatably mounted at opposite ends of a common axle 3|, asshown in Fig. 7. Supported by this axle immediately inwardly of thewheels is a pair of oppositely disposed anchor plates 32 of generallyV-shape, as shown in Figs. 3 and 7. Each of these plates has astrengthening rib 32a and has secured thereto at its lower end a block33 in which the axle is secured. The upper end of each plate 32 isprovided with a horizontal flange 34, and a pair of downwardlyconverging lower supporting brackets 35 are supported by these anges anddepend between the anchor plates 32. The rocker shaft support brackets35 are provided lwith horizontal 'flanges 36 at their upper ends whichare secured 'to flanges 34 by bolts 31, and the brackets 35 also haveparallel spaced portions 38 at their lower ends, with clearance recesses35a in the brackets adjacent the axle. Secured between the portions l38by means of bolts 39 are two pairs of spaced clamps 4| and 42. Theseclamps are adapted to rmly grip one element of a resilient rockerassembly extending longitudinally below both axles of the tandemassembly. This resilient rocker assembly comprises a cylindrical shaft43 surrounded by a relatively thick tubular length of rubber or otherresilient material 44, the rubber in turn being surrounded by tworelatively thin metallic casing members 45, one below each axle. `Theinner and outer surfaces of the rubber are preferably vulcanized orotherwise secured to 4shaft 43 and casing 45 respectively, so thatrelative rotation between the shaft and casing will be 3 yieldablyresisted by circumferential shearing stresses in the rubber.

A pair of tandem truck frame members 46 extends longitudinally acrossboth parts of each tandem assembly and the frames have correspondinglyspaced lower extensions 41 secured to axle rocker shaft 43 by means ofbolts 48, the securing points being located outwardly of the casings 45.A set of lspacer blocks holds the lower ends 41 of truck frames 46 inparallel spaced relation. 'I'he truck frames 46 are disposed within thelateral confines of brackets 35 and diverge upwardly but to a lesserdegree than do brackets 35. As will be presently described, the truckframes 46 are connected in supporting relation with the carrier bodyvv25| ofthe trailer. It will be seen that because `of the resilient.con-

nection between truck frames 46 and axles 13|,

the truck frames may be held from rocking movement in a lateraldirection even while the axles rock laterally due to road unevenness. Inparticular, lateral rocking movement Aof an axle will cause itscorresponding casing 45 to rotate relative to shaft 43, setting upcircumferential shearing stresses in the tubular rubber mounting 44.

As seen in Fig. 3, the truck frames 46 extend upwardlyand are providedwith aligned V-shaped recesses 54 between the front and rear sets ofwheels in each tandem assembly. A V-shaped upper supporting bracket 55is secured within these recesses, for example by welding, and extendsupwardly thereirom, the bracket being disposed transversely to thelongitudinal axis of the trailer and extending outwardly from the wheelsin each tandem assembly. A plurality of lower clamp members 56 aredisposed within the bracket 55 at the outer ends thereof, these clampmembers having semicircular recesses 51 at their upper ends. A resilienttandem rocker assembly similar to the axle rocker assembly previouslydescribed is disposed within these recesses, the assembly comprising aninner shaft 58, a tubular rubber mounting 59 and a casing 6|. A singleshaft 58 may serve for the rocker assemblies of both tandems 22 and 23and extend entirely across the trailer. Upper clamps having semicircularsections 62 are secured to lower clamps 56 by means of bolts 63 andfirmly grip casing-6 l, holding it against movement relative to brackets46. It will be observed that when, due to roadunevenness, the front setof wheels in either tandem assembly 22 or 23 moves vertically withrespect to the rear set in the same assembly, thereby rocking truckframes 46, the corresponding casing 6| will likewise rotate about anaxis transverse to the vehicle. The inner shaft 58 is secured to thecarrier body 2| of the trailer by means of outer carrier bracket 64 andinner carrier bracket 65 which are secured to the shaft 58 by means ofbolts 66 extending radially through the shaft. The brackets 64 and 65are disposed within the lateral confines of bracket 55 and divergeupwardly but to a lesser degree than bracket 55, the upper ends of thesecarrier brackets being welded or otherwise secured to the carrier body2|. It will be seen therefore that rocking movement of truck frames 46in a longitudinal plane will not be transmitted to the carrier portionof the trailer, since the resilient connection between upper supportingbracket 55 and carrier brackets 64 and 65 will allow the carrierportion'of the trailer to remain level.

In operation, when the trailer is being towed and road unevenness'orother obstructions are encountered, the various resilient connectionswhich have been described will act simultaneously in absorbing theshocks and unwanted vertical movements. In particular, when anobstruction is encountered tending to rock any of the axles 3| in alateral plane, the corresponding casing member 45 will be caused toresiliently rotate about shaft 43, thus minimizing the degree of rockingmotion which is transmitted to frame members 46 and to the remainder ofthe trailer. When an obstruction `is encountered tending to lift onepair of wheels relative to the other in either wheel truck 22 or 23,thus rocking frame members 46 in a longitudinal plane, this rockingmotion will be transmitted to casing member 6| which will resilientlyrotate about shaft 58, and thus the carrier body 2| will be preventedfrom receiving the rocking force. It will be observed that the operationof any one of these resilient connections will in no way prevent thesimultaneous operation of any other connection.

The opposite end of the trailer is .providedwith two front wheelassemblies 24 and 25, which as mentioined previously, have a steeringfunction especially adapted to cooperate with the structure previouslydescribed. Each of these assemblies preferably comprises two wheels 61mounted in spaced relation on a common axle. Two laterally spaced swivelextensions 68 are mounted beneath the carrier body 2| and extenddownwardly therefrom. Each wheel assembly is provided with a swivelsocket 69 Vwhich is secured to the axle between the wheels and receivesthe swivel extension 68, so that these connections may be of sealed nfthwheel construction. Various means may be provided for securing theswivel socket 69 to the wheel assemblies, and in particular these swivelsockets may be mounted by means of elongated resilient connectionssimilar to those described previously for the axles 3|. As shown in Fig.5, a swivel bolt '1| extends through the swivel extension 68 and swivelsocket 69, thereby securing the front wheel assemblies in swiveledrelation to the carrier body. Eachswivel socket 69 has secured theretoan arm 12 which extends substantially Yhorizontally toward the rear ofthe trailer. Asbest seen in Figs. l and 8 these arms 12 are sopositioned that when the wheels '61V are in neutral position (straightahead) the arms converge slightlyv toward each other so that the centersof the outer ends 1'3 thereof are spaced aparta lesser distance than arethe centers of swivel sockets 69. A tie rod 14 has Vits opposite endspivotally connected to the outer ends13 of the arms 12, so thattranslatory movement of tie rod 14 will simultaneously rotate arms 12about the swivel axes. A 'steering arm 15 has its inner end pivotallyconnected to the tie rod 14 at a point 16 which `is preferably themidpoint of the tie rod. As seen in Fig. 5 this connection may comprisea pivot bolt 11 which extends 'through the steering arm '15' and the tierod 14, as well as spacers 18, with a rubber bushing 19 provided withinthe tie rod aperture. The steering arm 15 is pivotally mounted to thecarrier body 2| at an intermediate point .81, which is preferably inalignment with the swivel axes, vand the steering arm extends toward thefront of the trailer and may have attached thereto a `draw bar 82. v

It will be seen, especially from Fig. 8, that when the steering arm 15is pivoted about its pivot axis 8| the inner end of the steering armwill cause translatory movement of tie rod 14, thus rotating arms 12.Due to the fact that the distance between th'e outer ends of arm 12 Visless than the distance between the pivot axes and because of theconverging nature of arms 12, a predetermined angular movement ofsteering arm 'I5 toward one side of the trailer will cause the wheelassemblies on that side to rotate a slightly greater amount than theassemblies on the other side. This will result in the axes of the axlewheel assemblies converging at a point on or close to an extension ofthe axes of the truck assemblies, for example, the point P in l'ig. 8.The result of this construction will therefore bethat sliding or rubbingaction of the front Wheels 61 will be minimized, especially when a sharpsteering angle is applied. It will also be observed that a relativelylarge steering angle may be obtained with this novel construction, sincethe linkage arrangement is such that the various elements will not moveinto interfering engagement during their normal angular movements. Ithas been found, for example, that in a typical installation a steeringangle of approximately 70 was obtainable without any interference of theparts.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated,it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible tomodification, variation and change without departing from the properscope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a multiwheeled vehicle, a wheel-supporting axle, a pair of wheelsin spaced relation on said axle, a pair of downwardly convergingbrackets mounted on and extending transversely to said axle between saidwheels, a pair of spaced frame members disposed within said brackets, aresilient pivotal connection between the lower ends of said framemembers and the lower ends of said brackets, a V-shaped bracket mountedon and extending transversely to said frame members, a carrier body onsaid vehicle, and a second resilient pivotal connection between saidV-shaped bracket and said carrier body, said second resilient connectionextending in transverse relation to said first connection.

2. In a multiwheeled vehicle having a carrier body and a plurality ofpairs of common-axle wheels in tandem relation, suspension means for Ysaid wheels comprising a pair of -downwardly converging lower supportingbrackets mounted on and extending transversely to each of said axlesbetween the wheels thereof, a pair of spaced frame members disposedwithin and extending between two adjacent pairs of said brackets,resilient pivotal connections between the lower ends of said framemembers and the lower ends of each of said pairs of brackets, an uppersupporting bracket mounted on and extending transversely to said framemembers, and a resilient pivotal connection between said uppersupporting bracket and said carrier body, said last-mentioned connectionextending in transverse relation to said first connections.

3. In a multiwheeled vehicle having a carrier body and a plurality ofpairs of common-axle wheels in tandem relation, suspension means forsaid wheels comprising a pair of spaced anchor plates supported by eachof said axles between the wheels thereof, a pair of downwardlyconverging lower supporting brackets supported by each of said pairs ofanchor plates and extending transversely to their respective axles, apair of spaced frame members disposed within and extending between twoadjacent pairs of said brackets, resilient pivotal connections betweenthe Vlower ends of said frame members and the lower ends of each of saidpairs of brackets, an upper supporting bracket mounted on and extendingtransversely to said frame members, :and a resilient pivotal connectionbetween said upper supporting bracket and said carrier body, saidlastmentioned connection extending in transverse relation to said rstconnections.

4. In a multiwheeled vehicle having a carrier body and a plurality ofpairs of common-axle wheels in tandem relation, suspension means forsaid wheels comprising a pair of downwardly converging lower supportingbrackets mounted on and extending transversely to each of said axlesbetween the wheels thereof, said brackets having clearance recesses toallow rocking motion of the axle and having their lower ends in spacedparallel relation, a pair of spaced frame members disposed within andextending between two adjacent pairs of said brackets, resilient pivotalconnections between the lower end-s of said frame members and the lowerends of each of said pairs of brackets, an upper supporting bracketmounted on and extending transversely to said frame members, and aresilient pivotal connection between said upper supporting bracket andsaid carrier body, said last-mentioned connection extending intransverse relation to said iirst connections.

5. The combination according to claim 2, the resilient connectionsbetween said lower supporting brackets and said frame members comprisinga shaft secured between the lower ends of said frame members, aplurality of spaced tubular casing members concentric with said shaftand secured between the lower ends of said lower supporting brackets,and a relatively thick resilient element between each of said casingmembers and said shaft, the inner and the outer surfaces of said elementbeing secured respectively to said shaft and said casing member.

6. In a multiwheeled vehicle having a carrier body and a plurality ofpairs of common-axle wheels in tandem relation, suspension means forsaid wheels comprising a pair of downwardly converging lower supportingbrackets mounted on and extending transversely to each of said axlesbetween the wheels thereof, a pair of spaced frame members disposedwithin and extending between two adjacent pairs of said brackets, saidframe members diverging upwardly but to a lesser degree than said lowersupporting brackets, a shaft extending between said adjacent pairs ofbrackets and secured to said frame members, resilient pivotalconnections between said pairs of brackets and said shaft, an uppersupporting bracket mounted on and extending transversely to said framemembers, and a resilient pivotal connection between said uppersupporting bracket and said carrier body, said last-mentioned connectionextending in transverse relation to said first connections.

7. In a multiwheeled vehicle having a carrier body and a plurality ofpairs of common-axle wheels in tandem relation, suspension means forsaid wheels comprising a pair of downwardly converging lower supportingbrackets mounted on and extending transversely to each of said axlesbetween the wheels thereof, a pair of spaced frame members disposedwithin and extending between two adjacent pairs of said brackets,resilient pivotal connections between the lower ends of said framemembers and the lower ends of each of said pairs of brackets, alignedrecesses in the upper ends of said frame members between said resilientconnections, a V-shaped upper supportacetico? 7 ing bracket securedpartially within said recesses, carrier brackets secured to said carrierbody and Kextending downwardly within said upper supporting bracket, anda resilient pivotal connection between said upper supporting bracket andsaid carrier brackets.

8. In a multiwheeled vehicle having a 4carrier body and a plurality ofpairs of common-axle wheels in tandem relation, suspension means forsaid wheels comprising a pair of downwardly converging lower supportingbrackets mounted on and extending transversely to each of said axlesbetween the vwheels thereof, a pair of spaced frame members disposedwithin and extending between two adjacent pairs-of said brackets,resilient pivotal connections between the lower ends of said fram-emembers and the lower ends of each of said pairs of brackets, a casingmember secured to said frame members and lextending transverselythereabove, a shaft extending within said casing and secured to saidcarrier body, and a relatively thick tubular resilient element betweensaid casing and said shaft, the inner and outer surfaces of saidresilient element being secured to said shaft and casing respectively,

9. The combination according to claim 8, the securing means between saidcasing member and said frame members comprising a V-shaped uppersupporting bracket secured to and extending between said frame members,and clamping means at spaced intervals along said V-shaped bracket forsecuring the casing member thereto.

10. In a multiwheeled Vehicle having a carrier body and a wheel truckassembly comprising a plurality of wheels in tandem relation, suspensiony35 tween said wheels and extending transversely to 'the planes of saidWheels, said :brackethaving lupwardly diverging portions, a tubularcasing mem ber clamped to said bracket and extending between saidportions, a shaft vdisposed concentrically within said casing andextending outwardly therefrom, a bracket extending downwardly from saidcarrier vbody and secured to the outwardly extending portion of saidshaft, and a relatively thick tubular resilient element between saidcasing and said shaft, the inner and outer surfaces of said resilientelement being secured to vsaid shaft and casing respectively.

l1. In a multwheeled vehicle having a 'carrier body and a wheel truckassembly comprising a plurality of wheels in tandem relation, suspensionmeans for said wheel truck assembly comprising a bracket mounted on saidtruck assembly between said wheels and extending transversely to theplanes of said wheels, said bracket having upwardly diverging portions,a bracket `mounted on said carrier body and extending downwardlytherefrom within said diverging portions, and ya resilient connectionbetween said two brackets, said connection extending parallel to saidtruck assembly bracket, whereby relative rocking motion of said twobrackets in the plane of said wheels is permitted.

GEORGE A. KENDALL.

References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,319,303 Norton Oct` 21, 1919 2,360,619 Peterman Oct. .17,1944 2,470,842 Barrington May 24, 1949 2,493,023 Pointer Jan. 3, 1950

